It's been said; "Its easier to brew an extremely hoppy beer than an extremely balanced beer." And you know us, we are always looking for the easy way out, so we jumped on the West Coast IPA Bandwagon and brewed this dry and hoppy ale. "Surly's a little bit of a one-trick pony, they just brew gimmick beers," and maybe we are OVERRATED, but at the end of the day it's just a beer. If yo like it, great, so do we. If you only liked us when we were small, then leave this one on the shelf. Let one of the fanyboys grab it.

Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Prince_Casual:

16 oz can dated about a month and a half ago. Poured into std tulip glass.

1.5 inch head recedes with little to no lacing. About the color of a ripe clementine, fairly translucent in the glass.

Hit right off the bat with apricot and peach aroma. I can smell it even when the glass is not near my nose at all. I'll disagree with a lot of reviews on here and say, an avg amount of grapefruit, and a well below avg amount of pine, for the style. I really liked the smell it had things I've not yet noted in a single IPA before.

The taste of this is interesting, it immediately has a mineral component that is very refreshing. I got more of the typical pine taste here than in the nose. Finishes with some grapefruit rind. Not too adventurous, but exactly what is expected for the style.

As with any well executed IPA, the alcohol was not noticeable at all. Great balance on carbonation, finishes extremely dry on the tongue.

I'd say this is an extremely balanced, and well thought out example of the style. It was less flamboyant then some similar things I've tried, just the right balance on a bunch of factors. I'd definitely call the aroma and the minerality the absolute highlights of this beer.

This is out of market for me so I probably won't seek it out very hard, but id I saw it on draft I'd 100% take one again. It's a great representation of the style, and you can't beat a fresh IPA from one of the big guys. I only wish I had a (fresh) GF WCIPA and racer 5 on hand to compare.

More User Reviews:

Thanks to maximum12 for this one. Based on my past experiences with Surly IPAs, I jumped at the chance to try their newest one. Overrated pours a solid copper, like a penny straight from the mint; modest clarity with just a touch of haze surrounding the core. The foamy white head lasts for a few minutes and leaves nice, wet lacing legs along the sides of the glass.

The aroma is densely packed with a huge, wet, fresh hop aroma; herbal, peppery, and just a touch spicy, staying very true to the West Coast style. Equal amounts of fruity aromas march in; grapefruit peel, orange zest, and citrus rinds compete with the raw hop aromas for center stage. The hops fire back with more and more oily pungency with each successive whiff. A very raw and unabashed IPA according to the nose - can't wait to finally taste it.

One sip and your tongue experiences a serious raw hop abrasion. A good truck load of oily, resinous, and pungent hops and pine needles are dumped on your palate right from the start. The hops are peppery and highly herbal, again, playing well to the strengths of many West Coast style IPAs. A decent amount of sticky bitterness hits halfway through and gets stronger in the end. Overrated is definitely more (perceivable) bitter than Furious, and I'd go so far as to say it might be more bitter than Abrasive. At least perceptibly.

The citric flavors do not go unnoticed throughout this herbarium, however. Grapefruit and tangerine seem to be the most vibrant, playing more towards the bitter side of things than the sweet side. Peels, rinds, and just a touch of sweetness in the finish to mesh into the bread-like malt body. As often seen with this style, the malts are relatively quiet until perhaps the aftertaste itself, where they coat the mouth with a thick bread and biscuit flavor. Medium bodied, oily and slick with just a touch of stickiness left behind; plenty of carbonation.

Once again, Surly has made an incredibly enjoyable and drinkable IPA, this time with a much more herbal and "spicy hop" stance. I'd definitely give the nod to both Furious and Abrasive over this stuff, but there's no doubt that it's a well-crafted brew. Definitely worth a shot if you're looking for something to scrape your tongue.

S: A strong citrus hops aroma with medium pineapple, some pine and a citrus peel. There is a moderate malt sweetness with some caramel character. A moderate grassy dry hopped aroma.

T: An aggressive hops bitterness with a strong citrus hops flavor. The hops are lemon, citrus, some pine and a little lemongrass-like. There is a little malt sweetness, just enough to provide support for the large hops bill. The balance is very bitter but it remains smooth. The finish is pretty dry with a lingering citrusy hops aftertaste.

M: Medium bodied with a medium-strong level of carbonation and a little bit of alcohol warmth. A light bit of creaminess as well.

O: A well balanced, bitter IPA showcasing a lot of American citrus hops. This beer is smooth while having a very strong hops bitterness and flavor.

Overall: Not quite up to Surly's IPA standard set by Furious, Abrasive and Wet, but that is like saying that Oahu is not as good of a vacation spot as Maui, Kauai or the Big Island. While the Midwest-made West Coast IPAs are not my favorite, this is much better than most. Nice job.